Veteran journo Alvin Elchico questions InstaPay after ₱20k briefly goes missing

Seasoned news anchor Alvin Elchico made public his frustrating experience with a delayed ₱20,000 transaction through InstaPay, the electronic fund transfer service.

On Threads, Elchico aired his frustration after transferring the money from his BPI online account to GCash, only to find that it had not reflected in the receiving account.

"Naku, nadale rin ako!! Nasaan na kaya ang P20k ko? Instapay bekenemen!" he wrote.

"Nag-online transfer ako mula sa BPI online account ko papunta sa GCash, nag-transfer ako ng P20,000 kasi may babayarang utang at bills na kailangang bayaran," Elchico recalled.

With the funds still missing from his GCash account, Elchico questioned which agency was responsible for overseeing InstaPay and addressing failed transactions.

"Sino ang nagre-regulate? Kung hindi kasalanan ng GCash, hindi kasalanan ng BPI, kasalanan ng InstaPay, sino ang dapat naninita sa InstaPay? Meron na? Trabaho ba yan ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas?" he asked.

The news anchor later posted an update on Facebook, revealing that the ₱20,000 had finally been returned to his account. He said the funds were restored by 2 p.m., less than 24 hours after the transaction was made.

"May update tayo sa nag-float na P20,000 natin na sinend sa GCash from my BPI account. As of 2 p.m., bumalik na. Thank you Lord!! Maraming salamat sa lahat ng taga-BPI na nag-coordinate pati na rin sa GCash, thank you. Naibalik po. Hindi naman umabot ng 24 hours, naibalik po. Thankfully, naaksyonan po," Elchico said.